Small-screen spec showdown: Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs. HTC One mini 2

The
battle between shrunken flagship smartphones is heating up with the
arrival of the Galaxy S5 mini, which will go head-to-head with HTC’s One
mini 2.

Samsung
Electronics announced the Galaxy S5 mini on Tuesday. Like the One Mini
2, it’s an important device, giving buyers who can’t afford the large
version or don’t want a really big screen an up-to-date alternative.
Here’s a spec comparison between the two phones:

Processors

The One
mini 2 is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor,
while the Samsung device is powered by an unspecified quad-core
processor running at 1.4GHz. However, the difference in clock speed is
unlikely to make any difference in the real world.The screen

Samsung
and HTC are in agreement that a smartphone in this segment should have a
4.5-inch screen with a 1280 by 720 pixel resolution. The Galaxy S5 mini
screen is based on Super AMOLED technology and the screen on the One
mini 2 uses Super LCD2 technologyDesign

Here is
where the One mini 2 shines, thanks to an aluminium chassis. The design
of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets has been much discussed lately
with many thinking that the company should use its massive resources to
develop more premium looking products. The Galaxy S5 has the same
dimpled plastic back as the regular S5.

Size and weight

One of
the reasons Samsung is sticking with plastic is the weight advantage the
material has over metal. The S5 mini is 17 grams lighter than the One
mini 2 at 120 grams. The Samsung device is also a bit smaller: the S5
mini measures 131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1 millimeters, compared to the One mini
2’s 137.4 x 65 x 10.6 mm.

Camera

On the
back, HTC has chosen a more traditional 13-megapixel camera for the One
Mini 2, rather than the UltraPixel technology used by the One M8. On the
front, HTC offers a 5-megapixel camera for high-resolution selfies.
Samsung has decided to go with lower resolutions: 8 megapixels on the
back and 2.1 megapixels on the front.

Extras

Samsung's Galaxy S5 mini.

If HTC
is hoping design will attract buyers, Samsung is betting the same wealth
of sensors found in the Galaxy S5 will attract users to the mini
version. The smaller model still has an integrated heart rate monitor
and a fingerprint reader. The Galaxy S5 mini is also water and dust
resistant. The HTC One mini doesn’t have much in the way of stand-out
extras. For music fans that don’t like headphones there are two front
facing speakers.

Storage and RAM

The
devices both have 16GB of integrated storage. Using a microSD card, that
can be expanded to 128GB on the HTC device or 64GB on the Samsung
product. The S5 mini has 1.5GB of RAM, while owners of the One mini 2
have to make do with 1GB.Battery

Both phones are kept up and running by a 2,100mAh battery.Shipping

The One
mini 2 is already shipping, while the Galaxy S5 mini will be available
in Russia starting in early July. Samsung kept mum on availability in
other parts of the world, but it shouldn't take too long to start
appearing around the globe.